Chapter 476: Craving (1)

Chapter 476: Craving (1)

- Sir, it looks like everyone has landed on the island.

“I see. Make sure to keep an eye out, see if anyone tries to join them later. And keep restricting the boats coming and leaving the harbor, okay?” Lee Hyeun-Su spoke into the phone's receiver.

- Yes, sir. There won't be any mistakes.

“We've already sent word to the county office, so boats shouldn't be heading to that area in the next two days. However, some people might try their luck, so keep your eyes peeled, okay?”

- Sir!

“Okay, I'll speak to you later.” Lee Hyeon-Su ended the call and leaned back against the couch. “Fuu-woo...”

Lee Hyeon-Su massaged his eye sockets with some force. The extreme level of stress seemed to have blurred his vision somewhat.

That was when the door to his office was suddenly flung open, and Bang Jin-Hun burst into the office.

“Lee Hyeon-Su!”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly opened his eyes, only for his expression to stiffen a little. Bang Jin-Hun's face clearly said he wasn't in a good mood.

“What the hell are you up to this time, you punk?!” Bang Jin-Hun roared in rage as a frightening aura gushed out of him.

'Yup, as expected of Bang Jin-Hun...' A cramped smile formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's face. When he thought about it, Bang Jin-Hun possessing this level of strength didn't seem so surprising.

One shouldn't forget that Bang Jin-Hun had managed to unite the Korean martial society, which had been split between Lee Jung-Geol and Kim Seok-Il for years. In terms of achievements, Bang Jin-Hun certainly did not fall short of those two old men. It was just that Bang Jin-Hun's operational style was so markedly different from the two men, making it harder to make a straight-up comparison. Even so, he should not be found lacking even when compared to those two former titans of the Korean martial society.

'Right. He's on par with that Kim Seok-Il...'

Lee Hyeon-Su hated Kim Seok-Il. However, despite his hatred, Lee Hyeon-Su still couldn't escape from Kim Seok-Il's grasp. Even if he was a rotten human being, Kim Seok-Il's abilities as a leader were something Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't win against.

Objectively speaking, though... Bang Jin-Hun was more capable than Kim Seok-Il. His sense of presence might be lesser than his predecessor because of his mellower personality and Kang Jin-Ho's shadow cast over him, but that didn't mean Bang Jin-Hun was some random nobody. After all, he managed to create his own faction within the Martial Assembly dominated by Lee Jung-Geol and eventually deposed the former Assembly Master altogether, didn't he?

As such, it made sense that Lee Hyeon-Su would be suppressed by Bang Jin-Hun in the blink of an eye.

“...Is something wrong, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked while minding his manners.

“Something wrong? What the f*ck? Would you listen to this punk run his mouth off? You wanna forget about consequences and have a go at me for real? Is that it, you punk!”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't help but sigh under his breath. If this was Kim Seok-Il, he'd have craftily asked this and that to find his opponent's weaknesses and used that to his advantage. However, Bang Jin-Hun was totally different. He was like an angry bull, pounding the ground with its hooves and getting ready to charge!

Lee Hyeon-Su didn't have much experience in dealing with outgoing people like Bang Jin-Hun, so he felt somewhat flustered by this situation. “F-for the time being, please calm down, Assembly Master.”

“Aha, so I'm the Assembly Master now? F*ck it. Actually, that's great timing, as*hole. I'm the Assembly Master, and you are a branch director, isn't that right? In that case, how dare you do whatever the f*ck you want without reporting to me first?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet while looking like a stiff log.

Bang Jin-Hun cocked an eyebrow. “What the hell? You really wanna have a go?”

“I apologize, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su bowed his head deeply.

“Huh?” Bang Jin-Hun faltered slightly as if he was caught off-guard just then.

“Sir, this matter required utmost secrecy from our side, and that's why I couldn't inform you. I thought that too many people from our side knowing the plan might make us look too busy and scare away the prey.”

“The prey? What? Explain to me in a way that makes sense!”

After confirming that he had successfully turned the situation around from a potential bust-up to a more civilized discussion, Lee Hyeon-Su sighed in relief and pointed at the empty chair. “For the time being, please take a seat, sir.”

***

“What the hell? That many people were targeting Mister Jin-Ho?” Bang Jin-Hun blinked his eyes in disbelief.

“Yes, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su pensively nodded.

“I did expect it to some degree, but who knew it was even worse? Okay, fine. I get it with the Japanese, sure. But, why are the French butting into this matter?”

“I didn't expect it either, sir. I believed another faction might get involved sooner or later, but... As for why they are here, well...”

“Are you sure they are hostile toward Mister Jin-Ho?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grimly nodded. “If they weren't, they wouldn't have followed him to the island.”

Bang Jin-Hun sneakily rubbed his forearm. Just listening to Lee Hyeon-Su roused up goosebumps on his skin. By now, he had realized how stupid he had been while asking about traps this and traps that.

'Hah. Who cares about traps?'

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled helplessly before lighting up the cigarette dangling between his lips.

A trap, was it? Yes, there was one. Kang Jin-Ho was the trap. And those idiots would soon learn the painful truth.

***

What should anyone do when their comrade died in the blink of an eye through inexplicable means? What if they couldn't figure out the killing method but knew who the killer was?

Should they fight back? Or try to flee? Or... start thinking about it?

There were several options to choose from. As humans were individualistic creatures, their choices seemed varied and all over the place.

The brave ones raised their weapons and charged forward. The cautious types stopped what they were doing and tried to analyze what was going on around them. As for the cowards... They were stumbling back in fear.

Their choices decided their individual fates.

Stab!

Azuremourne pierced right through the throat of a martial artist charging at Kang Jin-Ho.

The martial artist gasped loudly. “Kuh-rururuk...!”

The blood gushing out from the punctured throat flowed back into his esophagus to produce a gurgling noise of water boiling. After realizing that his throat had been pierced before he could defend himself, the martial artist's disbelieving eyes shifted to Kang Jin-Ho next.

“I don't care whether you accept it or not,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered while slowly pulling Azuremourne out.

The martial artist seemed to understand what would happen to him if the sword was pulled out from the wound. He hurriedly raised his hands and tried to grab the blade. Unfortunately for him, Azuremourne's sharpness exceeded his imagination by a country mile. His last-ditch struggle only resulted in his fingers gripping the blade getting sliced off instead.

The sword slid free from the human flesh, causing a fountain of blood to gush out with a mini-explosion of noise. Kang Jin-Ho didn't bother to dodge the blood shooting toward him and simply smiled away. Meanwhile, the dying martial artist continued to stare at Kang Jin-Ho in sheer disbelief.

“...Because the result won't change either way.”

Plop.

Kang Jin-Ho casually stepped over the fallen corpse and strode forward.

'Hmm. Something about this...'

This was a bizarre feeling. How was Kang Jin-Ho supposed to describe it? Was this a feeling of... liberation?

'Ah. So... It's been suppressed all along, is that it?'

That made sense if he thought about it. Kang Jin-Ho could be a rather 'noisy' person, after all. Once he picked his sword up, he'd not stop until the blood had been spilled and people had died. However, this era put up too many hurdles for him to satisfy his needs.

Anyone could walk right past, and cameras could be filming them from somewhere at any given moment. Kang Jin-Ho had to be mindful of this fact in everything he did, but on this island?

He was reveling in this feeling of liberation. He didn't need to worry about anything here. He could just swing his swords around and kill.

Kill everything his eyes could see!

“Kekeke...!” A twisted cackle left Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

What a familiar sight this was. The darkness was so deep that the tips of one's fingers were barely visible, yet Azuremourne's blade still gleamed faintly under the pale moonlight. And then...

All those terrified eyes staring back at Kang Jin-Ho! Looking at this scene brought back memories of the past. Those memories were from a time when Kang Jin-Ho wasn't Kang Jin-Ho, but... When he walked the Earth with the title of Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor! And memories nurtured a person's personality. Their nature.

The sword elegantly swimming in the air gradually flowed faster and faster. Kang Jin-Ho's movements became a little more vicious and just as sharper, more ruthless.

This was the purest form. A form that discarded all superfluousness to focus on killing the enemies had finally begun.

Kang Jin-Ho's single strike cleaved an enemy charging at him in half around their waist. Another enemy, paralyzed to his spot in fear, lost his head next. As for a coward who tried to flee, Kang Jin-Ho thrust his sword into their spine and twisted the blade around.

In the blink of an eye, Kang Jin-Ho sent three of his opponents into the next life, then slowly sucked in a lungful of seaside air. He picked up the scent of blood.

This dense, acrid scent stimulated his olfactory senses. As he breathed in this familiar scent of blood and death, the light in Kang Jin-Ho's eyes grew darker and more sinister.

Soon after that, demonic energy darker and denser than the darkness of the night oozed out from Kang Jin-Ho's body like a living fog.

“Do not disappoint me. You better be more satisfying than this...!”

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes now burned in a ghostly crimson hue as he pounced on his prey again.